The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-02-25
MONUMENT FOR THE STOVE PIPES.
A Story of Pioneer Life in Early Call
fornia DAYS.


fornia Days.
Yes. there are many, great many, good
stories told by pioneers, some more excellent
than true. A few years after our occupation
of the state was stationed In southern Cali
fornia, near Los Angeles, and one afternoon
] strolled out to the scene Of the Los Angeles
massacre, In which q friend of mine, young
officer, and some enlisted men had been
killed by the Mexicans some time before.
While endeavoring to get good idea
OF the position occupied by our troops
! accidentally stirred up the earth
with my shoe, and looking down ! saw
something glisten like gold In the sun.
picked It up and found IL TO be human
finger bone, and still on 1t the West Point
class ring OF my dead friend, marked with
his name and the date of his graduation.
had visited his family In New England, so
wrote IT, them, inclosiug their boys ring and
explaining how II had come into my posses
sion. Ia the course OF time received very
grateful answer, requesting me, IL could
identify the young mans remains, 20 have
them disinterred and sent home. found the
remains and shipped them, nicely boxed, To
the depot quartermaster, then in San Fran
cisco, requesting him to hold them, as | would
come along in a month myself and reship
them. In due time received another kind
letter announcing the arrival of the remains,
and the family seemed not able to thank me
enough for what had been no trouble TO m.
at all. Later on, having been granted a
leave Of absence, which / was spending in
the east, found myself in New York city
and l received an invitation to visit the
family again. So one Saturday morning I
started and reached the lovely old home
stead, which was beautifully situated in a
New England town. l was Hospitality re-
ceived. On the following morning, Sunday,
l was taken to the little cemetery and shown
my friends grave. over which had been
erected a beautiful marble monument, in
scribed with his name, military history, and
the date and manner of his death. After a
delightful visit i left, and my leave being
up. received orders TO proceed to San
Francisco to report for duty as depot quar-
termaster. In those days quartermas-
tiers when relieving each other, were very
careful to see that all public property re-
ceipted for, even to the last bolt, was there in
the store house before touching pen to the
receipts relieving the other from responsible
ity. The amount Of property was great, and
It took me four days to verify it according to
tho invoices.
On the invoices were some original boxes of
stovepipes-that is to say, some which had
never been opened. While going around with
the quartermaster sergeant, on the afternoon
Of the fourth day, we came to the boxes of
stoveppes. Being original packages, I did
not order them to be opened, but satisfied
myself by moving them slightly in order to
see II they were Of the proper weight. had
moved sixteen or seventeen of them, when
one seemed to be unusually light, and I di-
rected the sergeant to open it. He did so;
raised the lid Of the box slightly, and looked
in. noticed him quickly drop the lid and
start back with frightened look on his face,
and said:
"Wbat's the matter, sergeant: isn't it all
rights"
mo, sir; there's no stovepipes In there, /" he
half gasped out.
said: "What is there in the boxl"
He said: "There's bones-human bones, sir
saw q SKULL
The truth then flashed across my mind. ]
had made a mistake and shipped the wrong
stovepipe box to the old homestead In New
England. paid tho government the price
Of one box Of stovepipes, gave the old quar-
termaster a full receipt, had the remains
nicely buried in San Francisco and until this
moment have never breathed it. But a
lovely white marble monument In that pretty
little New England town marks the last rest
ing place of my box Of stovepipes. New
York Times.